Disfigured Life
by titanium.fictions
Summary: AU. Johnny Cade escapes from his parents one night for the first time. After getting jumped by some Socs, he hides in the lot where Ponyboy Curtis finds him. Only one thing, Johnny has an intense facial disfigurement and he never met the gang before.
1. Chapter 1

Johnny Cade had snuck out of his house for the very first time. He had been plotting to do so for a while, all because of his abusive parents. He just couldn't stand them anymore. If he tried, he might have died.

His parents were fighting that night, which was no uncommon event. Johnny sat cornered in his room, trying to block out any sounds that may echo up, near his room. He didn't know what they were fighting about, but he didn't care. Most of the time, it didn't matter what it was that they were fighting about, but they always blamed Johnny for it. Johnny would never try to do something to make them come into his room and beat him, but it just happened.

His mother claimed that Johnny was the reason for all of their problems. She says that every bad thing started to happen when he was born. According to her, Johnny was a curse to the family, him and his face.

You see, Johnny Cade wasn't like other people for several reasons, but the main reason why was his face. His face was the cause for all of the beatings and blaming. His face was the reason that he could never go outside. Johnny Cade had a facial disfigurement. Although most of it was centered on his left side and forehead, making it look like a fresh burn, you could see markings on the right side, too. He wasn't born with those markings. Those were caused by his parents.

His parents had blamed him so many times, that he had begun to think that it truly was his fault. He has caused shame towards his parents. There were several rumors going on around town to add onto it. The rumors had different explanations for the Cade household, but there was always one thing that remained constant. Each of them said some creature lived in their house.

Some of the theories had different, marvellous creatures as their explanations. Some say it was a witch, werewolf, or even a vampire in the house. However, the most popular theory was that it is a creature with no certain name, but had a terrible, mangled appearance. Why was it so accepted? Somebody had claimed to see this thing right in one of the windows. The witness saw it snarl at him before disappearing into nothingness.

What had really happened was a Soc, who was trespassing into Greaser territory, looking to jump some greasers with his buddy right beside him. They were both wearing madras shirts and nice coats. They drove up the the Cade house, when he got an unsteady feeling. He looked out of the window to see the house. To him, it looked pretty creepy, but then again, most everyone in the neighborhood thought some wasn't right with the house. He thought he saw movement in one of the windows.

That night, Johnny's parents had finally knocked themselves out and were asleep. However, he remained in his room out of fear, curled up in a corner. His attention was drawn to the curtains on the side of his room. He could see a couple lights trying to burst through the fabric. He had never drawn back the curtains before because his folks would never allow him, and you could only guess what they would do to him if they caught him.

Johnny stood up and cautiously went towards his window, careful not to make a sound. With a delicate hand, he drew back the curtains and peered out into the street, where the Doc's car lay parked in front of his house. It was parked in front of his parents' house. He could see a set of eyes staring at him, and he stared back. The Soc could almost clearly see Johnny. Johnny tilted his head to the side and the soc sped off. That's how that rumor was started.

He was finally free, though. On another night, when his parents were sleeping, he traveled into the kitchen and headed out the back door. He had never experienced the joyful feeling he had right then, but he would soon realize that things wouldn't go exactly how he planned it.

He had no place to go.

Yes, he was free of his parents or go do whatever he wanted to do, but the question was, where was he going to go? He hadn't planned as far as he had gotten. All he knew was that he had to get away from his house, far away. Without thinking, he began to run out as far as he could as fast as he could. He didn't make it far out because, little did he know, a few troublesome Socs were planning to invade the home of the "mangled monster".

The Socs drove onto Johnny's street. The driver was the same Soc that saw Johnny, but he had some reinforcements with him now. That night, they planned to capture Johnny as proof to the others that his stories were true.

"Alright, we're gonna lure that thing out the best we can, but if it doesn't come, we break in there and take it. Got it?" The Soc asked his buddies. They all nodded. He kept driving for a few minutes more.

The Soc stopped his car as soon as they arrived in front of the house, but he kept the headlights on for a moment longer. If he had turned them off a second sooner, it would have been too late. However, the headlights caught something moving several feet away.

"Look!" One of the Socs called out.

The driver looked up at the road, and he saw just the person he was looking for. Johnny Cade had run out in front of the car, and he couldn't turn away from it. The lights captivated and stunned him all the same. The Socs all opened the doors to the car and stepped out.

"Need some help?" The Soc said in an all too friendly manner.

Johnny, misreading the situation, replied, "Y-yes."

The Socs all laughed and Johnny cocked an eyebrow. One Soc called out, "Well, Bob! It looks like your fearful creature can talk after all!"

Johnny's breathing rate increased. He had a bad feeling about this. In an instant, he bolted down the road in the opposite direction.

"GET IT!" the Soc, who's name was revealed to be Bob, called out. All five of the Socs, including Bob, began to run down the road to capture Johnny. Unfortunately, Johnny wasn't exactly the strongest runner, and most of those Socs were jocks on the football team. It wasn't exactly difficult to catch up with the dark headed teen.

Two of the Socs got on both sides of Johnny and grabbed hold of his shoulders, pulling him to the ground. Johnny stifled a yell as he found himself heading for the ground in a moment's notice. His head made contact with the hard pavement, leaving him dizzy and vulnerable. He could barely lift his eyes up to see Bob looming over him with a switchblade in his hand. He was scowling.

"No, no, this will never do," Bob said, flicking his switchblade out. "Why don't we fix your face, Mangle?" Johnny had a feeling that this Bob wouldn't be doing the kind of good fixing to his face. "But first," Bob muttered to him, "SOFTEN UP HIS FACE!" Johnny had an icey feeling in his heart, and he began to struggle from their grip, but they wouldn't let go.

Several of the Socs at one time eagerly began to savagely beat Johnny's face to a bloody pulp. It hurt very badly for a few minutes, but then they began to knock him in and out of consciousness. After that, he couldn't breathe, think, see, or feel anything around him. Everything was red.

"Alright, that's enough, my turn," Bob said, although it sounded distant to Johnny's ears. Johnny tried in vain to look over at Bob, for Bob had placed the cool, sharp blade against Johnny's face, blood trickling down it. All the Socs began to laugh their terrible laugh once again, but this time it was interrupted.

All at once, the loud, angry shouts of the Greasers thundered down upon Johnny's ears. "So many..." Johnny thought silently. The Socs looked up at the impending danger and ran to their car as quickly as they could. Johnny took his chance and blindly started to crawl away until he felt that he would be safe for a little while. He stayed there crawled up until somebody walked by.

Ponyboy Curtis was walking home from the movies that night. He was alone with nobody else with him, which was dangerous for a greaser. It would be so easy for a few Socs to come up and jump him, but Ponyboy didn't think about it. It was too cold to think about anything, and it was pretty late. His brother Darry was going to kill him.

He was so close to his house. To be quick, Pony passed through the empty lot to save time. That was when he heard it. It was a sniffling sound, followed by quiet sobbing. Ponyboy looked around to find the origin of the unusual sound. He spotted a tree not too far away from himself. For a distance, it looked like a dark silhouette of a person was sitting behind it.

Curious, Ponyboy walked over to the tree. The sobbing grew louder the closer he got. Soon, he was able to make out the features of the figure. He was wearing a blue jean jacket and some jeans. His hands, knees, and dark hair were covering his face all too well.

Ponyboy managed to say, "Hey, you alright?"

The stranger jumped and fell to the ground, trying to hide his face in the earth. He started to shake and let out a terrified reply of, "No! Please! No more!" He was truly terrified.

"Hey, hey, I'm not gonna hurt you," Ponyboy said, throwing his hands up and taking a step back. "I'm just wondering if you needed help, that's all."

"Go away," The other said, failing to sound firm.

Ponyboy looked at him, trying to study him, when his eyes landed on the teen's fingers. They were caked with dry blood.

"You've been jumped by some Socs, haven't you?! C'mon, now I really need to help you stop the bleeding or something," Ponyboy exclaimed, genuinely concerned.

"Don't help, useless," the teen said. Ponyboy thought that the guy was about his age, judging from his looks.

"At least let me see how bad it is," Ponyboy said. He grabbed the guy's hand, startling him. He sprang to his feet, but left his hands down. There he stood, where he could be fully seen in the moonlight.


	2. Chapter 2

Ponyboy was finally able to get a good look at him. He took a small step back, surprised only for a moment and Johnny froze. He closed his eyes and turned his cheek away, as if waiting for the incoming impact, but Ponyboy didn't utter a word for a few moments more. In truth, he was studying Johnny's face.

"Wow, uh, they really bruised you up pretty bad, huh?" Ponyboy said finally to break the silence. He didn't know what to say.

Johnny was a little relieved. Ponyboy thought that the Socs had did all of the damage. In a way, he thought that it was good. Perhaps Ponyboy would be a little more willing to help him without trying to hurt him.

"Hey," Ponyboy said, waving a hand in front of Johnny's face. Johnny blinked. He was in a daze, and couldn't focus right. Maybe it was because too many things were going through his head or because he was losing too much blood, he couldn't pin it down. Ponyboy said something, but Johnny couldn't hear him. Soon, the ground was whisked away from his feet, and everything went black.

Ponyboy stared at Johnny. He didn't know what to do. Should he get some help? Call over some of his buddies? Take him home? Well, he couldn't just leave an injured guy in the middle of an empty lot. He could get an infection, or even die out there. No, leaving him was out of the question. Plus, it would make him feel guilty if he did.

Ponyboy ripped off part of his sleeve and tied it over Johnny's head to stop the bleeding and soak up some of the blood.

Judging from the way he looked, Ponyboy figured that he wouldn't be too heavy to carry. He got down on his knees and took hold of one of Johnny's arms and pulled it over his shoulder. He planned to carry him on his back, but that didn't work out too well. It just left Johnny on top of Pony, still unconscious, and Ponyboy out of wind and flat on the ground.

Trying again, Ponyboy rolled Johnny off of him. He grabbed both of Johnny's legs and his back before standing up, holding him bridal style. Ponyboy had to admit, it felt awkward to hold him like that, but whatever it takes to get him home. Slowly but steadily, Ponyboy began to walk back home, giving him plenty of time to contemplate what to do with Johnny.

He couldn't just burst through the door carrying him. Darry would kill him for being late AND bringing some random stranger from the streets in there. Even if he was hurt, Pony couldn't tell how Darry would react. That meant the same thing for keeping him at any of the other Greasers' houses. Pony thought that they were the only options though.

An idea suddenly struck him. He remembered that behind his house was a small storage building that was pretty run down but otherwise sturdy. He had never seen anybody go in or out of the building, so he assumed that it was abandoned. Temporarily, he could keep the teen in the building until he formed an idea on where to keep him until he fully recovered.

It wouldn't take too long to get there. Ponyboy would pass it on his way home almost everyday. Without giving it a second thought, Ponyboy headed in the direction of the storage building.

It was easy to get to the building, but it was more difficult to actually get inside of it. All of the doors were boarded up to keep people out. Ponyboy laid Johnny on the ground so he could attempt to pull apart the boarding. Again and again he would try to pull them, kick them, and even slam against them, but it did no good. The boards didn't budge a fraction of an inch.

It wasn't too long before Ponyboy grew tired and sat on the ground next to Johnny. He looked around from where he sat to see if there was anything nearby to help him. He saw the windows, but they were to high up to reach and definitely too high to carry a person up to it. However, when he looked down from the window, he spotted something shiny laying on the ground, covered by leaves.

Ponyboy stood up and walked over to it. He got on his knees to brush the leaves aside and pick it up. He rubbed his finger on the side of it and pulled it back quickly, taking a sharp breath. He looked at his finger, which had blood starting to appear on it. He then took hold of the object and held it up to the light. It was a hatchet.

Ponyboy quickly went back over to the entrance and brought the hatchet down on the boards several times. It worked quite well, and he soon had a good sized gap to fit him and Johnny into it. Quickly, he took Johnny by the arms and dragged him inside.

It wasn't too bad on the inside. Ponyboy was actually expecting some more spiders and bats, but it was pretty clean for an old building. In one of the corners, there was a small pile of straw, just big enough for Ponyboy to set Johnny down on it. Carrying Johnny in the same bridal style, he laid him down on the straw.

He stood there a moment, just to look at him. Before, Johnny's eyes were filled with worry, regret, hurt, and fear. His whole body was shaking violently as tears poured down his face. At the moment in the building, he looked at peace. Of course, he was unconscious, but that wasn't the point, in Ponyboy's opinion.

Looking up, Pony realized how dark it was outside. Darry and Soda would panic if he wasn't home soon. Reluctantly, he left the injured teen sprawled on top of the straw but not without leaving a note so he wouldn't worry about being in a strange place not familiar to his memory. With that, Pony departed.

Ponyboy opened the door to his house, bracing for the lecture that Darry would no doubt give him the moment he set foot in the door. When he stepped inside, something happened that he least expected. Darry ran across the room, as fast as he could manage, until he was directly in front of Ponyboy. He then raised his arms.

And enveloped Ponyboy in a quick but tight hug.

For a few seconds, he couldn't breathe, or even think for that matter. Half of it was because Ponyboy wasn't expecting that of all things, and the other half was because Darry was squeezing to tight and he could not breathe.

He let go of Ponyboy quicker that he came to hug him. His eyes suddenly turned from caring to ice, like they usually were. "Oh boy," Ponyboy thought to himself silently, "here comes the lecture."

"Ponyboy Curtis, do you know what time it is?!" Darry said. With that, he began to give his rant about movies, and socs, and social workers, and just about anything else closely related to that. Ponyboy, for the most part, just stared at the wall behind Darry with his eyes glazed over, his mind drifting. That really got a remark by Darry.

His punishment wasn't too bad. He got grounded for only a week and was sent straight to bed, where Soda was. When Darry said that, Pony gave him a small nod, and walked off into his room.

Carefully, without trying to disturb Soda, he crawled under the covers next to him and closed his eyes, but not for very long.

"Where've you been?" Soda asked quietly. His voice didn't sound like he had just woke up. He must have stayed awake because Pony wasn't there beside him.

"At the movies," Pony said flatly.

"Long one?" Soda asked.

Ponyboy gave a simple "mm hmm," in reply. Soda didn't asked any more questions, and soon, he fell into a deep slumber.

It wasn't so easy for Ponyboy to do the same. There was just too much on his mind, and he couldn't seem to calm down enough for sleep. For the most part, he tossed and turned, or even stared at the ceiling to gather his thoughts.

He couldn't stop thinking about that boy he found in the lot. Who was he? How old was he? How many Socs jumped him... If they jumped him? Would he be okay until the morning? The thoughts swam in his head for what seemed like hours until he was too tied to think. His eyelids finally closed with him thinking, "I'll just help him until he's better, that's all, and that will be the end of that."

Little did he know that the story about the victim and his new found protector was just getting started.


	3. Chapter 3

Ponyboy had to leave for school the next day, which left him concerned about the boy he had left in the building. He had looked pretty bad when he found him, and he didn't do a very good job patching him up. He could have died last night any he'd never know. His body could just be a rotting mass of flesh piled upon the ground, ready for the worms to devour.

The very thought of it made him shiver, and he decided not to think too much more on the subject. However, he couldn't help but think more about it once he was at school. Only, he wasn't thinking about the condition of the boy, but about the boy himself.

How did he end up in that mess? Sure, Ponyboy might go home without anybody with him sometimes, but that's short distance. After he was beaten, he didn't go home. Maybe he didn't have a home to go to. Some of those cuts didn't look like they were made by a knife, and they looked older, slightly healed, perhaps even scarred over, leaving his face like that.

Ponyboy thought this, and tried to bring up an image from his mind. Yes, the Socs couldn't have done any of that. There was a nice gap on the side of his face, cutting into the hairline, but no hair grew there. His cheek was pretty bad too. Perfectly sculpted into various red patches, each a mangled mess. Some were deeper than the others. One patch even revealed the shape of his cheek bone, without actually showing bone.

That part actually looked like it was healing, and nobody on earth could have healed that fast. Ponyboy grinned to himself for discovering this without having to question anyone. "Maybe Darry is wrong," Ponyboy thought to himself.

The bell for class rang, and Pony cleared his thoughts. He headed for class, trying not to think about the boy until the end of the day.

OoOoOoO

There was a small opening in the building, where young Johnny Cade laid, asleep. Through this opening, a ray of light from the morning sun burst through, resting upon Johnny's eyes. The light began to grow increasingly brighter, disturbing Johnny farther until he finally woke up. You see, Johnny never really got to see the sun very well. His mother always kept him hidden in his room, with the curtains back. Being able to see the sun was a nice surprise, as well as a shock.

His eyes widened once they were opened, and Johnny found that he had to block his eyes from the light. He quickly crawled under a wooden platform until his eyes adjusted. After they did, Johnny's curiousity sparked.

He took hold of one of the wooden posts that were holding the platform, and heaved himself up, off of the ground. He stuck his hand out first. The summer sun warmed him, and invited him to come out there all the way. He hesitantly walked out, and he loved it. It was the warmest he had ever been, even when he was in bed. Of course, he only had a single sheet on his bed.

Johnny's eyes trailed down to the ground. The sun was good, but maybe a little too good. Maybe the sun just wasn't meant for people like him. His heart sank, and he fell back under the plamform. He sat for a moment before his head shot up and looked at his surroundings. He didn't remember coming to the building. The last thing he remembered was this younger boy trying to help him. That boy had seen his face.

Johnny placed a hand on the left side of his face in shame. He allowed a lone tear slip down the side of his face.

"Tears... Water!" Johnny screamed at himself. He felt like he hadn't had any water in days! He looked around the unfamiliar building for something, anything that might contain water. Scanning the area, he discoved a pail of what looked like clean water. He quickly ran over to it and got a handful to drink.

He failed to notice the note on the side of the pail until half of the water was gone. His hand graced it, leaving a papercut. This caught his attention. He turned the pail over and picked up the note. All of that time he had spent at home, he tried to educate himself. With time, he was able to learn how to read, which allowed him to under stand the note. It read:

I'm sorry for having to leave you like this,

but I have to get home quickly or else I'm

in for some major trouble later on. I have to

go to school tomorrow, so I won't be able to

check on you until the afternoon. Don't

worry, I left you some water and

there is

a hatchet next to the pail if somebody tries

to get in. You can protect yourself with that.

There shouldn't be no one to come in, but

we'd better not take risks. Be careful with the

side of your head, it's wrapped up, but not

very good.

-_Ponyboy Curtis_

Ponyboy? Was that the boy who had helped him? Johnny sure had hoped that this "Ponyboy" really meant his kindness, and that it wouldn't end up like it did with the Socs that last night.

Johnny looked to the side and saw the hatchet. He brought his hand over the top of it, and tried to pick it up. He brought his hand back quickly, realizing just how heavy it was. he thought better of it and brought both of his hands to the hatchet and slowly pulled it up. It was pretty rusty and not very sharp, but it could still be used. He laid it down carefully, feeling awkward that he was holding a weapon close to him.

Johnny rubbed his throat. He was still thirsty. He looked down into the pail of water to get another handful, but something stopped him. The water had settled after he had feverishly scooped out the water. He could very clearly see his reflection. He looked ever so strange with two sleeves wrapped up on his face. He hadn't noticed them there before. His head felt differently every day, in his opinion, and the nerves there died long ago.

He brought his hands to the back of his head and untied the sleeves. Hopefully, the people who jumped him didn't mess his face up more than he thought. He looked into the pail and at his changed face. It wasn't like he thought at all... It was worse. There he stood, staring at the water, with new and uglier scrapes, scars, and cuts on his face. He shuddered and turned away.

Why did Ponyboy help him? By now, he had convinced himself that Ponyboy was doing it for good and not trying to trick him, but what did he know. If Ponyboy really was tricking him, he felt that he would never trust people again, maybe go out and be a lone wolf for the rest of his life. Was that even his real name? Could it be? If it was, what kind of a name is Ponyboy?

Johnny's thoughts were interrupted when he heard a snapping of a twig from the outside. His head snapped up once more, this time in the direction of the sound.

"Was that a person? No, it can't be. This place looks abandoned. Why would anyboy come here?" Johnny said to himself. He didn't stop to think about who it might be.

The sound of footsteps could be heard approaching the building. No, somebody really was coming! Johnny had to react fast. He bent down and picked up the hatchet. He headed for the opening. His heart was racing faster than a horse. Somebody climbed into the hole Ponyboy made to get in. Johnny ran over to the hole in a panic.

He had swung the hatchet, aimed directly for Ponyboy's face.


	4. Chapter 4

Ponyboy didn't see the hatchet in Johnny's hand until he came around the corner. Johnny didn't even realize that it was Ponyboy even then. He could hardly even see him the night before.

Ponyboy had to react quickly. In a blink of an eye, he gave out a little yell and tumbled forward. The hatchet buried deep into the wood in front of Johnny. You could hardly even see the blade, it was so deep. Johnny feverishly tried to pull it out, but had no luck.

"Hey!" Ponyboy yelled at Johnny. Johnny jerked towards him, and his heart stopped throbbing so much when he recognized the voice. "Are you crazy?! You could of just killed me right there!" His voice was a mix of surprise, anger and fear.

Johnny's heart sank a little, and he didn't respond. Ponyboy searched his eyes for emotions. It seemed that Johnny was just as scared as he was. Ponyboy could tell that he was in a panic, but would he still have done that all the same? There seemed to be very little trust in his eyes, if any.

Ponyboy let his anger settle, and his shoulders sank. He looked over at Johnny, who pressed himself against the wall with his head down, turned away from Pony. He was holding the upper part of his arm. Ponyboy started to walk towards him. Johnny looked up at him with his giant, sad black eyes. It looked like he winced when Ponyboy came too close.

Ponyboy raised his hand up hesitantly, not really sure about what to do. He put his hand on Johnny's shoulder awkwardly. He flinched as soon as Pony's hand made contact.

"Hey... I-I'm sorry about that. You just scared me for a minute. You okay?" Pony asked Johnny quietly.

Johnny paused for a moment before replying, "Yeah I'm okay now." The last bit of panic he had in his body seemed to leave him, and his stomach growled. He slung his arm around his waist and realized just how hungry he really was.

Ponyboy looked at him. "You hungry?" He asked.

Johnny nooded eagerly. "Starving," he said, and Pony gave him a grin.

"Well good. I brought food, and lots of it, too. Drag that crate over there and I'll set it on that," Ponyboy told him. Johnny looked at him and noticed that he had a bag slung over his shoulder. He did as Ponyboy said and dragged the small wooden crate into the crack of light shining on the floor.

Ponyboy took out a small cloth and laid it down on the crate, followed by a few rough sandwiches. He had made them in a hurry, hoping that nobody would see what he was doing. Johnny didn't cared though. He kept eating one after another, as if he couldn't become full.

Pony sat there, watching him. "How long has it been since you last ate?" He asked Johnny.

Johnny put down his sandwich and wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his blue jean jacket. For a moment, he just sat there, deep in thought. "I... I really can't remember how long exactly. I don't keep up with time well. I don't have a clock or something."

Ponyboy didn't reply. He thought that it was best to let him eat before he asked him any more questions. It took a couple minutes, but, to Pony's surprise, Johnny ate all five of the sandwiches. He only stopped eating once, when Pony asked him that question.

Johnny let out a sigh and laid with his back on the grass and his arms behind his head. Ponyboy sat down with him and seized this opportunity to question him. "So, uh, what do they call you?" He asked. Johnny looked at him.

"Hm?" He replied, confused.

"I mean, what's your name," Ponyboy corrected.

"Oh, right, my name's Johnny... Johnny Cade," Johnny told him. He hesitated to tell him his last name for a moment. Cade shouldn't have been his last name. It was his father's name. He hated it. He hated him. They were probably holding a big party that night just to celebrate that he was gone. They were probably off wishing he was dead in a ditch or at the bottom of a lake somewhere.

Johnny's body tensed up. His knuckles were white and his eyes were glazed over. He asked him quietly, "Hey, you okay?" Johnny glanced at him and nodded stiffly. Ponyboy knew he wasn't telling the truth. If he had some Socs jump him like they did to Johnny, he'd probably sit in thought, too.

"You're Ponyboy then?" Johnny asked, getting away from the topic.

"Yessir," Pony said, smiling with pride.

Ponyboy stood up. Johnny looked up at him. Pony gave him a little grin a struck his hand out for Johnny to grab. Johnny took it cautiously and stood up. Once he did, he immediately released it, letting his arm dangle at his side. Pony walked behind him, but Johnny kept his eyes on him, not daring to look away in case Pony tried something funny at that point.

Pony dug into his pocket and took out a small roll of bandages and peroxide, to clean the wound. "Let's get you fixed up. You took one good beating from the looks of last night," Ponyboy told Johnny, who didn't reply. He just nodded, and held still. Ponyboy took off the cloth he had put on him. The cuts stopped bleeding, but they hadn't scabbed over yet. Yes, the peroxide would do some good.

He took out another piece of cloth. Only, this one was clean. With a quick twist, Pony opened up the bottle of peroxide and poured some on the cloth. Then, he proceeded to gently dab the cloth on Johnny's face. Johnny's eyes were closed tightly, and he didn't speak a word. The only sound was Ponyboy's careful breathing, the occasional sharp intake of breath by Johnny, and Ponyboy's small "sorry," that followed.

He continued to clean Johnny's face until he was sure that he covered everything, and he then wrapped Johnny up. With a final tight tug on the knot, he turned Johnny to face him.

"Alright now, I have to get home before sunset, or my brother will skin me. I'm gonna come back tomorrow though. Don't try and take that wrapping off, or scratch the places you were cut. I'm no doctor, but I do know you could make it worse by doing that. Remember that the hatchet is over there if anybody tries to get in. Don't use it unless you have to, and please don't try to chop off my head again," Ponyboy explained.

"How am I supposed to know it's you?!" Johnny exclaimed, a little too loudly. A dog nearby started to bark and Ponyboy shushed Johnny. Johnny asked, in a lower tone, "Well, what am I supposed to do?"

Ponyboy threw his hands in the air. "Alright, alright, I see your point," answered Ponyboy. Johnny crossed his arms, and Pony scratched his head. His head bolted in the direction of Johnny and he pointed his index finger at him. "Ah! I'll knock on the boarding out there. If somebody goes by here and doesn't do that, you know it's not me," he told him.

Johnny said, "Oh, and of course nobody would think of that. C'mon, Ponyboy, what if somebody is out there looking for me?"

Ponyboy told him, "Okay, okay, but who would be looking for you? The Socs? I don't think they'd come back here again. Us Greasers will chase them away before they get out here. But if if calms your nerves, I'll call out your name after I knock, and you can meet me at the opening."

"Good," Johnny said. He turned around and laid down on the hay stack, back turned towards Ponyboy. It looked like the end of the conversation and the visit. Ponyboy turned towards the opening and walked out, going home.

However, unknown to both Ponyboy and Johnny at the moment, five people were searching for Johnny. Ponyboy would only find out, once he got to school.

**Before I start the next chapter, I must ask of your option on something. Besides Johnny being a little more timid and cautious, what do you think about him perhaps being a little sassy to other people like the Socs, but not Ponyboy?**


	5. Chapter 5

There was a group of Socs gathered up in the corner of the hallway. They didn't notice, but Ponyboy came in to listen to what they had to say. The center of the attention was, of course, Bob, Randy and three other guys in their group that went out two nights ago to find Johnny.

They had already told the story, but word had gotten around school about what they saw. Of course, you can't trust what anybody says at school, but all the Socs trusted Bob for some reason. They wanted to hear it from him to make sure that everyone was telling the truth. It was a pretty outrageous story on its own. However, Bob didn't tell the true story in the least.

Ponyboy opened his locker nearby, so they wouldn't look over and see that he was listening in on their conversation. He pretended to get ready for his next class, but he did so extremely slow.

"Alright, you guys wanna know what happened a couple nights a ago?" Bob asked the group. A small voice from the audience called out, "yeah!" This received a less loud repeat from the others. Bob grinned a little. He loved the attention.

"Alright, we'll tell you, but we're not going to repeat," Bob told the crowd. Everyone immediately became silent. Even Ponyboy slowed down his speed, so he wouldn't be so loud in gathering up his books. "I was driving the boys in my Mustang. We were just going for a cruise, you know, when we realized that we weren't on the West Side anymore. We were in the East side, the Greasey side."

"Yeah... You just magically appeared there without realizing it," Ponyboy sarcastically muttered under his breath.

"We were going to turn back, but Randy here got out of the car," Bob continued, leaving the ending off, so Randy could start explaining.

Randy looked out towards the audience and said, "Yeah... I thought that I saw something near the garbage can in front of this house. Being the curious guy I am, I went to check it out. I couldn't see it well, but when it turned around, it attacked me. The thing must have been two feet taller than me, darker skin too, but its face was all battered up and twisted every way. Naturally, I took out a blade to protect myself, sent that thing running., but not without a mark."

Randy showed them a long scratch on him arm. While Johnny was teying to get away, he clawed Randy and he started bleeding. There came various 'ooh's and gasps from the audience. Some of them sounded angry. Ponyboy rolled his eyes. If that story was real, then he lived on the West side of town. It was just too hard for anyone to believe.

"How do we know what you're saying is true?!" Ponyboy shouted without looking at the crowd. Bob frowned immediately and looked around, seeking the owner of the voice. His glance gradually stopped at the place his eyes were focused on before.

"Alright, need some proof?" Bob asked. A few people in the crowd nodded stiffly. "We'll go back to the house where we saw it. Saturday. Anybody who wants to come with us, can."

One person asked, "Which house?"

Bob replied with a smirk, "The Cade house, of course."

The Cade house. Johnny. Ponyboy's eyes widened as he made the connection. Why hadn't he thought about it before. Everything made so much more sense now! The way he thought about it before didn't seem right. Johnny Cade, the very guy he rescued from a group of socs, just happened to be the legendary thing hiding inside of the Cade household.

"Not even close to a bloodthirsty monster," Ponyboy thought to himself silently. Wait. Saturday night? They were going back to the East side on Saturday night? They were bound to find the old, abandoned warehouse then. He needed to relocate Johnny and fast, but would he trust him? Where would he take him? Again, he was faced with this problem.

It was only Tuesday, though. He had four days before the Socs came to his side of town. By then, he would have taken Johnny somewhere else, safe and sound.

One might question why Ponyboy was doing all of this for one small person. You see, although Johnny might look a little different, he still didn't have a lot of money and lived on the East side. That meant he was a greaser, and greasers are like a family. They have each others' backs. If anybody needed help and support as a greaser at that time, Ponyboy felt that it was Johnny.

He needed to warn Johnny, but he still had a few more more classes. Ponyboy mentally kicked himself for even thinking that he could just run out and tell Johnny immediately. No, he needed to wait until the opportunity was given to him. Closing the door of his locker, Ponyboy trot off to his next class.

OoOoOoOo

Ponyboy headed up to the warehouse with some Johnnycakes in a small bag. He heard of them before and remembered tasting one once. It was delicious. Not only did Ponyboy think that Johnny might enjoy a little, round cornmeal flat bread, but the name of it was quite odd as well. Why not?

He struggled up to the front of the warehouse, slipping on either some mud or an unseen rock along the way. He had to hang onto the wall the keep his balance. Halfway up, though, Ponyboy stopped and pressed his ear against the wall. Nothing. Either Johnny was trying to be extremely still, or he was asleep. Ponyboy continued on his way.

Once he was on level ground, he raised his fist and knocked on the door. "Johnny?" He asked quietly, it was almost a whisper. He knocked again. "Johnny?" He repeated. He heard something hard hit the floor with a metal clank. Johnny was awake, and he was holding the hatchet again.

As quickly as you could blink, Johnny's face appeared at the doorway, still bandaged up. His lips came close to curling up. It was like he was almost glad to see Ponyboy.

"You're back!" Johnny stated.

To this, Ponyboy said quickly, "Yeah, let's get inside, quick. I gotta tell you something."

Johnny nodded and walked back into the building. He didn't ask questions until the time came. Ponyboy noticed this and liked it a little. At least Johnny wouldn't be like one of those people who ask the wrong questions loudly at the wrong time. However, Ponyboy would appreciate it if Johnny actually did talk to him some more than just standing there, staring downwards.

"Them boys that beat you up," Ponyboy began.

Johnny looked at him, slightly frightened. He asked, "What about them?"

"They're coming back, but not until Saturday. I don't know what we're going to do now, but I do know that we can't stay here when they come. This might even be the first place they look after searching your house," Ponyboy explained. He was looking out of the doorway, as if expecting a mustang to drive up the road at any minute.

"That ain't my house. Not anymore," Johnny muttered. Louder, he said, "So what is plan to do?"

"I don't know, I just told you that! I'll have to work something out, and I'll do it soon, I promise. There's no way I'm letting them get to you again," Pony said thoughtfully. He opened up his bag. "For now, you are going to eat something. I brought something special for you. I stayed up late last night trying to make them without my brothers finding out." Ponyboy pulled out the Johnnycakes. They looked like they were supposed to, but they were far from complete. Ponyboy didn't have all the ingredients that he needed.

Johnny picked one up and studied it. He took a bit and his eyes widened. "Is it some kind of cornbread?" He asked.

"In a way. It's called a Johnnycake," Ponyboy told him. Johnny allowed himself to let out a small laugh and took a few more eager bites. It was delicious. Ponyboy grinned. He had accomplished something good that day.

After eating the Johnnycakes, Johnny sat down on the hay, patting the spot beside him, inviting Ponyboy to sit down with him. He did so and looked out at the hole in the roof. Ponyboy asked without looking away, "Were they good?"

Johnny had his eyes closed. He answered, "Real good."

Ponyboy nodded slightly. "Well good. That wasn't as good as they're supposed to be. I didn't have everything, so they were... Not right" he explained.

"Like me," Johnny said on a low tone. It wasn't a question.

Ponyboy threw himself up and looked Johnny, who was startled, straight in the eye. "Now listen here, Johnny, as long as I'm with you, I won't let anybody try to hurt you, make fun of you or anything else. So cut that stuff out right now. You shouldn't hate yourself for something you can't control, you understand?" Ponyboy lectured him.

Johnny gave him a quick nod, and Ponyboy let his shoulders fall with a sigh. A light grew bright in the corner of his eye. He turned around to see the sky slowly turning into a yellowish orange. The sun was setting. After a moment's thought, he turned to Johnny and asked, "Have you ever seen the sunset?"

"No," Johnny replied with his head cocked.

Ponyboy lent him a hand and helped him up. "Come on, I gotta show you something."


	6. Chapter 6

Dallas Winston was walking down the street. There wasn't much on his mind. He wasn't planning to go home. In truth, he wasn't planning to go anywhere. He would end up where his feet would take him, but then Ponyboy Curtis walked by.

"Probably going to the movies or something," Dally had told himself. He looked behind his shoulder without even realizing that he was watching Pony. What he saw next interested him. The way to the movie theater was to turn right at that corner. Ponyboy turned left.

Dally frowned and thought, "What's he up to?" None of their houses were down that road, and the only place that path leads to is the old warehouse. Why would Ponyboy, the youngest Curtis brother, have to go to the warehouse? Upon closer examination, Dally noticed a bag underneath Pony's arm. It was filled with something.

Dally allowed a smirk to form on his face. "Well... Well... Has Darry's kid brother finally gotten in some trouble?" He thought to himself. Keeping a safe distance behind Pony, Dally began to follow him.

His theory was correct. Ponyboy slipped up the side of the wall, and Dally observed from the corner at the bottom. Pony stopped for a moment to listen, before going on and saying something. Dally couldn't quite hear him well, for he whispered it. It sure sounded like "Honey?" in Dally's ears.

Footsteps could be heard rushing to the door. Through the light of the setting sun, Dally could make out the silhouettes of two people. One was Ponyboy's, but the other belonged to a person who had long hair and a slim figure.

Although their hair didn't trail past their shoulders, Dally still mistook the other for a woman. They exchanged some whispered phrases before going inside the old warehouse. For a while, they didn't come up, which gave Dallas some time to think up some 'interesting' ideas of what they were doing. None of which I dare to write down.

They both emerged after some time. "Finally," Dally thought to himself without speaking it. He was getting bored sitting there. Ponyboy stood, while the other sat on the grass, with their back against the rock. They stood there for a while, just looking at the sun as it slipped under the horizon. At the point where it was most beautiful, he said, very clearly, "You see that? That's the sunset."

They kept standing there until the sun was completely gone. He saw Ponyboy look back at the other. Pony let out a deep breath and picked the other up, and went inside once more. Only this time, he came out quickly, stopped to crack his back and started walking down the side of the warehouse.

Dally hurried to the end of the street, where Ponyboy would most likely walk by, and leaned against the street post. He would have a few things to say once Pony came around.

It was getting late and Ponyboy Curtis knew this. Even if he snuck out of the house with Darry thinking he was in his room, it wouldn't be long before he went in the check up on him and realized that he wasn't there anymore.

He spent a lot of time with Johnny in the warehouse, but Pony thought that it wasn't enough. He couldn't survive on just one small meal per day, and if Pony knew anything about hair, Johnny needed a haircut.

Pony hung his head. He would just have to make the best of it. After all, some time is better than no time at all. Maybe he would be able to do everything that he needed to do with that small time.

He was nearing the corner of the street to go home, when he saw Dally leaning against the street post. He thought about him questioningly for a moment. It looked like he was waiting on something, or someone. He didn't care too much and walked past him. However, Dally turned as he walked by and shouted at him, "Hey Pony!"

Pony's eyes widened, and he turned around to face Dally. He didn't walk any closer, so Dally approached him. He had the look on his face like he found out something terrible, and he seemed to be rather smug about it.

Ponyboy asked with a small groan, "What is it, Dally?"

"I think you know what, Curtis," Dally replied.

Pony frowned, slightly confused. He crossed his arms. "No, I don't. So why don't you let me in on what's going on through your head?"

Dally let out half a grin. "What were you doing with that pretty little broad up on the warehouse?"

Ponyboy took a step back. He was really confused at that moment. Pretty little broad up on the warehouse? There was nobody up there with him besides... Johnny...

"Dally? Are you drunk? I wasn't with any girl up at the warehouse. Go home, Dally. I don't know what you're talking about" Pony told him with a boldness he would have never used on Dally before. He turned back and started walking again.

"I think that you do," Dally shouted back. "Calling her 'Honey' and doing God knows what in that warehouse."

A bright blush climbed up Ponyboy's cheeks. Although he didn't stop, his pace slowed down tremendously. Dally had followed him to the warehouse, and he took the situation all wrong. He was able to catch up with Pony.

"You really shouldn't be doing that kind of st-" Dally began.

Ponyboy couldn't take it. He clutched his ears and cheeks all at one time. "Dally, please, It isn't like that," he said.

"Then what was it? Because it sure as - looked like you and her," Dally continued.

Pony shook his head, "No, He isn't even a girl!"

"You were-?!"

"NO!" Ponyboy facepalmed and sighed. "Let me start over." And so, Ponyboy told Dally everything that happened from the night the Socs beat up Johnny to the point where Pony saw Dally at the street sign.

Dally listened to every word that Pony said, and only interrupted him once or twice with a remark. Ponyboy, despite this, was able to tell his whole story.

At the end, he asked, "Well?"

Dally looked up at him and said, "Well what?"

"Will you help me?" Ponyboy asked in an almost demanding voice.

Dally put his hands up. "Whoa there, Pony, slow down. I don't even know the guy. He could be using you for all we know.

"Okay, alright, so you meet me up with me at the bottom of the warehouse tomorrow, and we go to see him together. Just don't go in without me. He thinks that the Socs are following him, and he has a hatchet nearby if somebody walks in. I have the call his name so he doesn't slice me open because he doesn't know it's me. We'll go in, you judge him, we decide what to do, simple," Ponyboy explained.

"What do I get out of it?" Dally demanded. Of course he would ask that.

"I'll do whatever you want me to do, but you gotta help us out. C'mon, Dally, help a friend out. Deal?" Ponyboy asked. He held his hand out for Dally to shake.

Dally sat there in thought for a minute, wondering which decision would be best. He hesitantly reached out his own hand and shook Pony's.

"Deal," he replied before letting go of Pony's hand. "I hope you know what you're getting into, Pony."

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure," Ponyboy replied. In truth, he hadn't the slightest idea about what to do once they relocated Johnny.


	7. Chapter 7

Dally and Pony met up at the end of the street near the warehouse the next day. Although Pony almost knew that Dally would help him, he couldn't help but feel a little worried. Dallas Winston wouldn't waste an opportunity for somebody to be in dept for him.

To say the least, Dally himself was debating whether he should help Ponyboy. After all, how would he know if Pony really would live up to his end of the deal? Still, he met up with Pony anyways.

"Dally, ready to go?" Ponyboy asked.

Dally sighed. "Yeah, yeah, why else would I be here if I wasn't ready? Let's just get it over with," he told Pony.

Pony didn't respond to him. He felt that he didn't need to. Instead, he just led Dally towards the warehouse.

It rained last night, so it was pretty muddy up the side of the building. The boys tried to take large steps into the grass or rocks, but they just couldn't help it sometimes. Although Ponyboy kept his mouth shut when he stepped into it, Dally started swearing black and blue. Pony had to remind him to keep quiet, or Johnny will come out swinging the hatchet.

After a few steps, Pony noticed that there was no way he would stop talking, so he stopped walking and knocked on the side of the building.

His fists hammered into the aide of the building, but he whispered the words. "Johnny?" A knock. "Johnny, you awake?" They both kept silent. Nothing. Pony furrowed his eyebrows and pressed forward with Dally in tow. Every now and then Pony would whisper Johnny's name until it was evident that something was going on.

Pony quickened his pace, while Sally's remained the same. He began to call out louder, "Johnny?" And even louder, "Johnny?!" He was running to the doorway.

Johnny laid stiff on the pile of hay, back facing him.

Ponyboy bolted over to him. "Johnny!" He cried out. With a quick jerk of his wrist, Ponyboy rolled him over. Johnny's breath came out in quick and ragged.

Dallas walked into the doorway. He merely observed from his spot, not wanting to go over unless he was needed.

Johnny's bloodshot eyes barely opened up. He looked around, vision blurred until he spotted Ponyboy. "Pony?" He gasped.

"Shh, Johnny, don't speak," Pony replied, partially relieved.

Dally leaned over to get a better look. It was then that he noticed the bloodstained bandages sprawled across Johnny's face. He went over to the two quickly and drew out a switchblade. "Pony, what were you thinking?!" He asked, yelling a little. He took hold of the bandages and began to saw them off, much to Johnny's protest.

"N-no! Don't take them off! D-don't look!" Johnny basically screamed at him. Pony wanted to calm him down. He began to pet Johnny's long, naturally greasy hair.

"Johnny, it's okay. You're alright," Pony said, trying to comfort him.

Dallas wasn't listening to them. He was beginning to rant about Pony's carelessness. "You don't just leave the bandages on! You could cause him to get an infection or something. It could have killed him!" Dallas hacked through the last bandage.

Johnny grasped Pony tightly. He wasn't expecting it, and Pony sat stunned for a moment. Johnny buried his face in Pony's sweater.

"Don't let them see me Pony. They'll attack me! They'll do what they did last time!" Johnny said through the fabric.

Dally looked at him, but he couldn't see his face. "God, Pony, he's delirious," he commented. He ran a rough hand through Johnny's hair, which made him clutch Ponyboy even harder.

Dally looked at his hand. It was wet. "How did this happen?" He demanded.

"I don't know! I wasn't here!" Pony replied.

"Pony, your friend here could catch a cold like this, and an infection won't help," Dally explained.

"Can that even happen at this time of year? You don't even know if he has an infection! You haven't even looked at him!" Ponyboy retorted.

"I would, if he wasn't busy attaching himself to you!"

They were silent for a second. The only sound was Johnny's hurried breathing.

"Pony? Pony?" He asked quickly.

"Come on, Dal, you're scaring him. He probably thinks you're a Soc from the way you're handling him," Pony said carefully.

"You wanna see rough? I'll show you," Dally told him. He took hold of Johnny and wrenched him off of Pony's torso. Johnny tried to hide his face, but Dally took hold of his hair and turned his face to him. He let go of him almost as quickly as he grabbed him. He jumped back, started to yell a few choice words.

Ponyboy got up to his feet. "What's wrong with you Dally?! You can't just come in here, yell like that, and insult him! He's sick!" Pony called out to him.

"Well Pony, maybe you should have thought your plan through a little more. Maybe you should have come up with a plan. Why do you even care so much?" Dally asked of him.

Pony looked at the ground, trying to think for a moment. Why was he helping him? He hardly knew anything about him, and he was a total stranger when they met. There was no way he could abandon him now, though. Not after all they've done. They have forged a fragile friendship, and Pony didn't want that to go to waste.

"That doesn't matter right now," Pony said slowly. "What matters is that he needs help, and we need to help him."

Dally gave him a stern look. "Okay Pony, but what do you think we should do, since you're the one who's coming up with the fail proof plans here?"

Pony let out a breath, and pondered about the situation. "Maybe we could take him to your house?" He suggested.

Dally looked at him with an "are you stupid?" kind of face. "What, are you crazy?! My old man will boiling if he sees us dragging a guy off the streets into the house," he bellowed.

"Well then, we won't be seen," Pony said. Dally still wasn't convinced. "Come on, Dally, it's only for a few nights, and we'll be off."

Dally looked at him, "We'll take him in there, let him rest up, but after that, you owe me twice as much."

"Okay, fine."

They carefully approached Johnny. His delirium took a firm hold of him, and had to knock him out in order to transport him. Somehow they had to get him there without looking suspicious. It would be a long night.


End file.
